If You Wait Too Long, He'll Already Be Gone
by Juliqua
Summary: Damon receives a secret letter from an admirer, making Elena realize that if she waits too long, he'll get taken by someone else. D/E. One-shot.


_**I was bored last night, so I decided to try writing my first one-shot. I don't know how I feel about the result, but hopefully you'll like it.  
>I used a random word generator to get this idea, and I got: <strong>_**  
>Secret letter, jealousy, and admirer.<br>**_**They were just perfect. So that is where this came from.  
><strong>_  
><em><strong>Summary: Damon receives a secret letter from an admirer, making Elena realize that if she waits too long, he'll get taken by someone else. DE. One-shot.**_

_**This takes place somewhere post season 2, but they beat Klaus. So Stefan was never gone.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries, or any of the characters involved.  
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><p><strong>If You Wait Too Long, He'll Already Be Gone<strong>

"Good morning Elena," Damon winked, as he passed her on his way out. Making sure to walk close enough to briefly touch her.

"Morning," she distantly responded, not paying much attention to him. Her mind was elsewhere today.

Frowning at the lack of response Damon made his way out the front door, without giving Elena another glance. Apparently she was in a bad mood… _again_.

Elena scanned the boarding house living room, hoping to find something other than blood or booze to drink. She came out of that search empty handed. _Figures they don't keep anything else here, _she thought bitterly. She wasn't exactly sure what had gotten into her today. The growing feeling of annoyance just wouldn't leave. She didn't have any particular reason to be annoyed; they had taken down Klaus, no one was currently out to get her, and everything was back on track with her and Stefan – _for the most part anyway.  
><em>  
>She threw herself down on the nearest couch, relaxing for a while might be just the thing she needed right now. She made herself comfortable, adjusting the pillows behind her head to make herself comfortable.<br>Just as she was about to close her eyes for some much needed rest, she noticed something on the table next to her. A letter. It was opened and just lying there for anyone to read.  
><em>No Elena, <em>she told herself. There was no way she would snoop around in other people's mail.  
>Okay, maybe she could just take a look at the name. She slowly reached for the letter, and read the name written in beautiful italic handwriting, <em>Damon Salvatore.<em>  
>Now she was officially curious. Who could he be receiving letters from?<p>

_That is none of your business, _she mentally scolded herself for having such a curious mind. She couldn't just read his letter. That would be total invasion of privacy. But then again, it wasn't as if he had never invaded her privacy. Alright, maybe she could just take a little peek? Just read the first couple of lines, and if it was too private she would put it back where she found it, and never think of it again. That sounded like a good plan. She opened the envelope, and took out the neatly folded piece of paper that resided inside.  
><em><br>"Dear Damon,  
>I had a truly wonderful time last night, which I hope to repeat in the near future.<br>You really are breathtaking, in all the right ways.  
>Just wanted to let you know that. In the hopes of putting a smile on your face.<br>See you soon, right?  
>With Love,<br>Kayla."_

When she had finished reading it she just held it there in her hand, staring at it. It was short, but it said more than enough.  
><em>Okay Elena, now you have to forget about the stupid letter, and get you much needed rest until Stefan comes back, <em>she told herself, while putting the overly mushy letter back in its envelope. No need to dwell anymore on it. She didn't care if Damon received zappy love letters.  
>That was a <em>lie<em>, and deep down she knew that. She was fully aware of the fact that the dumb little letter got to her more than it should have.  
>Maybe she just felt sorry for the girl? Maybe that was it?<br>_No_. Yes, that had to be it. Because she knew that Damon would never actually care for this girl… _right_? Wait, how could she be so sure of that? It wasn't as if he was seeing anyone else. He was a free man, ready to be taken by some girl any day now. That thought had a bigger impact on Elena than it should have. It made her feel strangely _jealous._  
>No, no, no. She had no right to feel jealous about Damon getting on with his life. He had the right to do that, and she didn't have the right to care. She had Stefan. So why did she feel jealous about this letter? Well, it wasn't so much the letter as it was the message it held to her. Damon could move on whenever he wanted to, and that could be as soon as tomorrow. Still, she shouldn't be affected by that. Damon wasn't hers. And didn't she <em>want <em>him to get on with his life? _No_, was the answer that immediately came to her mind. She sighted, how could she be so _selfish?_ Why did she feel this way? Why couldn't she just forget that she ever found that letter, and focus on what she actually had, instead of what she could have?  
><em>Could have, <em>those words made her heart jump with excitement. All she had to do was make the damn decision, and she would never have to worry about him receiving mushy love letters ever again. But she couldn't do that, could she?  
><em>No, you're taken, <em>she reminded herself, and her heart rate returned to normal. _But I don't have to be._

"I'm back," came from the doorway, cutting off her inner debate with herself.

"Stefan, I'm sorry, but I have to go," she called out, grabbing her jacket.

"Oh, I thought we were going to spend the day together?" he questioned, with a puzzled look on his face.

"I know, and I am so sorry. Something came up, and I have to run," she quickly explained, "I'll make up for it later, promise." That was what she told him, but it wasn't exactly what she had in mind.  
>She was out the door before he could respond, and it left him wondering what was so urgent that she had to sprint out the door without a proper explanation.<p>

When she got back to her own house, Damon was already there. She knew that he would be. She had called and said that it was an emergency, and that she needed him to meet her at her house. Just because she knew that he would be there in seconds. And because she also knew that if it took too long before she got to do this, she might never do it. She couldn't risk having a change of heart.

"What is the emergency?" Damon questioned, with a doubtful look in his eyes.  
>Elena took a few steps towards him, so that she stood directly in front of him. She reached out and cupped his face in her hands, drawing him closer till they were only inches apart.<p>

"This," she whispered, before pressing her lips to his. Starting their first proper kiss, and in that moment she knew one thing for sure: _there was no going back now.  
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><p><em><strong>Please do review and let me know what you think :-)<strong>__  
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